You would like to think that your team three weeks into the season either remains hot or starts to turn a corner for the good. There are teams that have started bad and remain bad or teams that are turning the corner for the bad. Sense a theme? You want to make moves? Turn the corner. Some teams are this week, for the good and the bad.

Charlotte remains the top team for the third week in a row after some shuffling in the top five. No real reason, yet, to move the Checkers from the pinnacle.

Springfield bumps to second. There are no undefeated teams left in the AHL, but Springfield is one team who has yet to suffer a regulation loss.

Rochester started 0-2 but have not lost in regulation since. The Americans are third in this weeks Rankings.

San Jose drops to fourth after splitting a series with Stockton.

Your Central Division leading Milwaukee Admirals round out the top five.

Pop past Milwaukee if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up this week….

1	Last Week: HER 3 @ CHA 4 (SO), HER 2 @ CHA 0, CHA 3 @ UTI 1
	Even the best teams have bad days, like the Checkers had against the Bears Saturday, but that is not enough to knock Charlotte out of the top spot, yet.
n/a	This Week: @ BNG 10/26, @ SYR 10/27
Record: 6-1-0-0

2	Last Week: SPR 5 @ LAV 3, SPR 4 @ LAV 2
	Thunderbirds go into Laval and sweep the Rocket. Points in all six contests so far for the Thunderbirds, who host Providence and Hartford this week.
+2	This Week: vs. PRO 10/27, vs. HFD 10/28
Record: 4-0-0-2

3	Last Week: TOR 4 @ RCH 5 (SO), RCH 4 @ BEL 5 (OT)
	Underestimate this Rochester team at your peril. This Amerks team is built to compete and compete they have. After an 0-2 start to start the year, points in their last six.
+9	This Week: vs. UTI 10/26, vs. LAV 10/27
Record: 5-2-1-0

4	Last Week: SJ 5 @ STK 2, STK 3 @ SJ 2
	Split a series with the Heat. Off to Texas this week. Still lead the Pacific.
-2	This Week: @ SA 10/26, @ TEX 10/27
Record: 5-1-0-1

5	Last Week: MIL 2 @ SD 4, MIL 5 @ CHI 4 (SO), SA 0 @ MIL 3
	Milwaukee jumps into the top five after a positive week. Admirals lead the Central. Good trio of games coming up this week.
+2	This Week: vs. CLE 10/26, vs. MTB 10/27, vs. MTB 10/30
Record: 6-1-1-0

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No changes with the top team from Week 1, the Charlotte Checkers, in Week 2. It’s the Checkers world and we are all skating in it.

Some shake up in the top five and beyond. The theme this week is going to be .500. There are a lot of teams that are .500 and some of them are a surprise in a good way and a surprise in a bad way at the, “just average” mark two weeks into the season.

San Jose jumps to second behind the Checkers. The Barracuda have a lead on the rest of the Pacific.

The Iowa Wild played just one game last week, won it, and remain third.

Springfield jumps up into the top five this week after blasting Lehigh Valley 7-0 last Friday. Their offense is potent and they head to a scrappy Laval Rocket team who’ve impressed early on.

The Chicago Wolves round out the top five after a 4-0 start to lead the Central.

Pop past the Wolves if you didn’t link in direct to see where the rest of the AHL fills out in Week 2.

–

1	Last Week: CHA 4 @ UTI 3, CHA 4 @ SYR 1
	Remain the number one team this week after a 4-0 start. There doesn’t appear to be anything that can faze this team at the moment.
n/a	This Week: vs. HER 10/19, vs. HER 10/20, @ UTI 10/24
Record: 4-0-0-0

2	Last Week: SJ 6 @ STK 4, TUC 3 @ SJ 2 (SO)
	Remain at the top of the Pacific through the second week of the season and have some slight separation on second place Tucson.
+3	This Week: @ STK 10/20, vs. STK 10/21
Record: 4-0-0-1

3	Last Week: TEX 3 @ IA 4 (SO)
	Light past week for the Wild, who are off to a 3-0 start. Two more with the Stars this coming week.
n/a	This Week: @ TEX 10/19, @ TEX 10/20
Record: 3-0-0-0

4	Last Week: SPR 7 @ LV 0, LV 5 @ SPR 4 (SO), PRO 3 @ SPR 6
	Springfield is a preseason team we picked as a contender that is living up to expectations very early on. This is a fun team to watch that can score in bunches.
+5	This Week: @ LAV 10/19, @ LAV 10/20
Record: 2-0-0-2

5	Last Week: GR 1 @ CHI 5, MIL 4 @ CHI 5 (OT)
	Wolves are 4-0, at the top of the Central and finding ways to win early.
+1	This Week: @ GR 10/20, vs. MIL 10/21, vs. CLE 10/24
Record: 4-0-0-0

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Back for another season on a different day are the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings.

In the short term, we are going to run these on Thursday’s. They debuted at 10 am today because of the later Penguins game in Cleveland tonight, but that time may change to noon or sometime in the afternoon. I may stick with 10 am or go with noon. I may not even like Thursday’s, but it seems to work because it is one of the lightest days on the AHL schedule.

Anyway, I hope you like the new change.

So to this weeks Rankings, don’t look at the top. We have the Charlotte Checkers as the number one team over the only 3-0 team in the AHL in Cleveland. These early Rankings are just setups for 10 weeks from now and onward. Is Lehigh Valley really a mid-table team? No. I will tell you that right now. Are we overestimating Springfield? Probably, but that’s not for me to say for certain as these teams get into their schedules.

Iowa debuts at third. They dismantled a Moose team that did the same to Central Division foes last season.

A surprising Binghamton team is fourth followed by San Jose in fifth who lead their, “they don’t play as many games as we do” division.

After the Barracuda, jump through to see the rest if you didn’t link in direct. Enjoy!

1	Last Week: CHA 6 @ RCH 2, CHA 4 @ RCH 2
	Impressive start for the Checkers, who rolled into Rochester and took away all four points. Trip through New York continues this week with Utica and Syracuse.
–	This Week: @ UTI 10/12, @ SYR 10/13
Record: 2-0-0-0

2	Last Week: RFD 1 @ CLE 4, RFD 2 @ CLE 5, CLE 5 @ TOR 3
	Cleveland off to surprising 3-0 start. Big test coming this weekend when Wilkes-Barre stops by for the first time in a long while.
–	This Week: vs. WBS 10/11, vs. WBS 10/13
Record: 3-0-0-0

3	Last Week: MTB 1 @ IA 4, MTB 1 @ IA 8
	Tim Army’s group is 2-0 after week one and smoked the Moose quite handedly in both contests last weekend. Light schedule this week when Texas comes in Friday.
–	This Week: vs. TEX 10/12
Record: 2-0-0-0

4	Last Week: TOR 5 @ BNG 7, HFD 3 @ BNG 5
	Something is brewing in Binghamton, who are off to a 2-0 start. Three on the road this week.
–	This Week: @ LAV 10/12, @ LAV 10/13, @ BEL 10/17
Record: 2-0-0-0

5	Last Week: ONT 1 @ SJ 4, SJ 5 @ BAK 1, BAK 3 @ SJ 2 (SO)
	Good start for Roy Sommer’s crew. Barracuda sit atop the Pacific after the first week.
–	This Week: @ STK 10/13, vs. TUC 10/15
Record: 2-0-0-1

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Welcome to the final Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings entry for the 2017-18 season! Thanks for reading this project of mine going on five years here on the blog.

Here’s how we do the final entry of the season in the Power Rankings. The regular season champion is number one, followed by the conference champion that wasn’t the regular season champion. Then, the division winners fill out the top four, usually the hottest team after that fills out the top five. All 16 teams that qualified for the postseason are 1 though 16.

I’ll have to remember or go back and look to see if I did this in prior seasons, but the last place teams in each division finish 26 through 30 in this years iteration.

Toronto is your number one team and the regular season champion. They are followed by the dangerously consistent Western Conference Champion Tucson Roadrunners. Teams like Manitoba, Grand Rapids and Chicago stole the headlines throughout the season, yet the Roadrunners continued to plod through their season and stayed at the top of the Pacific Division and are the best team in the West.

Lehigh Valley and Chicago were the second best teams in their conferences, so they are third and fourth followed by Charlotte, who ended the season on a tear.

Click past the Checkers to see the rest of the order and thanks for reading again this year!

1	Last Week: TOR 4 @ LAV 1, LAV 4 @ TOR 6, BEL 3 @ TOR 4
	Should be interesting to see how easy (or how hard) it is for Toronto to just run through the field of 16 like grass through a goose. The Marlies are your obvious choice to win it all.
n/a	Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Utica
Record: 54-18-2-2

2	Last Week: TUC 4 @ SD 0, SD 2 @ TUC 3, SD 3 @ TUC 6
	Tucson is best in the West. Don’t underestimate the Roadrunners at all. They need to be careful, though, with the white hot San Jose Barracuda in a no room for error five game series.
+1	Playoffs?: Yes, vs. San Jose
Record: 42-20-5-1

3	Last Week: BRI 2 @ LV 5, WBS 1 @ LV 2 (SO)
	104 points and an Atlantic Division Championship. Atlantic has four very good teams, so it will be interesting to see if the Phantoms are the last team standing here in a month or so.
-1	Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Providence
Record: 47-19-5-5

4	Last Week: CHI 4 @ MIL 3 (SO), CHI 6 @ RFD 4, RFD 4 @ CHI 5, MTB 3 @ CHI 1
	Should be a fun series for the Wolves with Rockford, who came on strong at the end to edge into the playoffs. Same could be said about the Wolves who came on strong to capture the Central Division Championship.
+3	Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Rockford
Record: 42-23-7-4

5	Last Week: CHA 5 @ PRO 3, CHA 4 @ BRI 1
	Meet the Penguins in Round One. Are probably the hottest team coming into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
-1	Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Wilkes-Barre
Record: 45-26-1-3

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

It’s the penultimate week of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings and things are coming into focus for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

No change to the top three, Toronto, Lehigh Valley and Tucson are the top three teams. Rockford stays in fifth, needing just one point to clinch a playoff spot.

The Charlotte Checkers are fourth in the order, and are on a tear and a team you don’t want in the first round of the playoffs.

To check out the other 25 teams, click past the Rockford capsule and enjoy.

1	Last Week: UTI 2 @ TOR 3 (OT), TOR 2 @ UTI 3 (SO), TOR 5 @ RCH 6 (OT)
	Regular season champs should be odds on favorite to claim the Calder Cup, but were all know how that went last season with last years regular season champion Penguins.
n/a	This Week: @ LAV 4/13, vs. LAV 4/14, vs. BEL 4/15
Record: 51-18-2-2

2	Last Week: LV 1 @ CHA 3, LV 1 @ CHA 6, LV 2 @ HFD 3 (OT), LV 6 @ PRO 3
	Wrapped up home ice in the first and second rounds this weekend. We will give them the advantage over a date with Providence. Charlotte? Not so much.
n/a	This Week: vs. BRI 4/13, vs. WBS 4/14
Record: 45-19-5-5

3	Last Week: GR 0 @ TUC 3, GR 4 @ TUC 1
	Have proven it all season long, now look to prove it where it matters the most.
n/a	This Week: @ SD 4/11, vs. SD 4/13, vs. SD 4/14
Record: 39-20-5-1

4	Last Week: LV 1 @ CHA 3, LV 1 @ CHA 6, HER 3 @ CHA 7, HER 1 @ CHA 3
	Five wins in a row and an eight game point streak. Checkers getting hot at the right time.
+4	This Week: @ PRO 4/13, @ BRI 4/15
Record: 44-26-1-3

5	Last Week: RFD 4 @ SA 2, RFD 3 @ TEX 2 (OT), RFD 3 @ TEX 4
	IceHogs are a point away from clinching a spot. Barring a meltdown, should happen before Friday.
n/a	This Week: @ IA 4/10, vs. CHI 4/13, @ CHI 4/14
Record: 39-26-4-4

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

As the calendar turns to April, there are a ton of races to watch as the finish line is in sight.

Six teams have qualified. A handful more should punch their ticket this week. There is a bunch of playoff seed jockeying still going on in all the divisions.

We use the Week 26 version of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings to break it all down.

Toronto jumps back into the top spot this week after breaking the AHL record for wins on the road, followed closely by Lehigh Valley who are going to wrap up the Atlantic Division fairly soon.

Tucson is back to third after punching their ticket to the postseason followed by your new Central Division leaders in Chicago, who overtook the stale Moose for first in the division this week.

The top five is rounded out with a white hot Rockford side who are surging.

Pop past the IceHogs to see where your favorite team ended up this week.

1	Last Week: LAV 1 @ TOR 5, TOR 3 @ MTB 2, TOR 5 @ MTB 4
	Marlies continue to roll. Set an AHL records for most road wins this past weekend. There is still another two weeks left in the season, by the way.
+1	This Week: vs. UTI 4/5, @ UTI 4/6, @ RCH 4/7
Record: 50-18-1-1

2	Last Week: PRO 0 @ LV 2, BEL 2 @ LV 4
	Lehigh Valley are firing on all cylinders and should be close to wrapping up the division title this week. First round playoff preview this week with Charlotte most likely.
-1	This Week: @ CHA 4/3, @ CHA 4/4, @ HFD 4/7, @ PRO 4/8
Record: 44-17-4-5

3	Last Week: TUC 6 @ IA 4, TUC 4 @ IA 3
	Roadrunners punch a ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs, the first Western Conference team to do so. Tucson has flown under the radar for a bit here and are ready to shine in the postseason.
+1	This Week: vs. GR 4/6, vs. GR 4/7
Record: 38-19-5-1

4	Last Week: IA 1 @ CHI 3, TEX 2 @ CHI 1 (SO)
	Took over first in the Central after Manitoba’s free fall. Tough opponents coming up this week for the new Central leaders.
+2	This Week: vs. MIL 4/3, @ IA 4/6, vs. MIL 4/7
Record: 38-21-7-3

5	Last Week: RFD 4 @ MTB 2, RFD 4 @ MTB 3, SJ 3 @ RFD 5
	IceHogs are 8-1-1-0 in their last ten and on a roll which is what you need when you storm into playoffs. You want a dark horse team? Look no further.
+2	This Week: @ SA 4/4, @ TEX 4/6, @ TEX 4/7
Record: 37-25-4-4

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Things are decided in the North Division. The four teams (Toronto, Syracuse, Rochester and Utica) are set to tangle in less than a month in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The rest of the divisions remain in flux.

Just a quick shuffle in the top five this week with Syracuse and Tucson swapping spots. After fifth place Providence, pop past the jump if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up. Let’s dive right in…

1	Last Week: LV 4 @ PRO 5 (OT), LV 1 @ PRO 6
	Wrapped up a spot in the playoffs this weekend, will probably sew up the division as well. Forget about that 6-1 thumping that Providence put on Lehigh Valley and move on.
n/a	This Week: vs. PRO 3/30, vs. BEL 3/31
Record: 42-17-4-5

2	Last Week: WBS 3 @ TOR 4 (OT), TOR 4 @ BEL 2, BEL 4 @ TOR 2, SPR 2 @ TOR 0
	Possible Calder Cup Final preview this week in Winnipeg or nah?
n/a	This Week: vs. LAV 3/28, @ MTB 3/30, @ MTB 3/31
Record: 47-18-1-1

3	Last Week: BRI 1 @ SYR 4, UTI 0 @ SYR 2
	Crunch are jockeying for home ice. Given the schedule this week, will probably cement that status.
+1	This Week: vs. BNG 3/28, vs. BEL 3/30, vs. CHA 3/31
Record: 41-19-3-4

4	Last Week: SJ 0 @ TUC 4, SJ 4 @ TUC 3 (OT), TUC 2 @ BAK 1, TUC 2 @ SJ 3
	5 of 8 points this week for Tucson who continue to sit atop the Pacific. Two this week with a stone cold Iowa side.
-1	This Week: @ IA 3/30, @ IA 3/31
Record: 36-19-5-1

5	Last Week: LV 4 @ PRO 5 (OT), LV 1 @ PRO 6
	Bruins getting previews of possible playoff opponents. Home ice with Wilkes-Barre not decided yet, will probably come down to final weekend. Two this week with their likely first round opponent.
n/a	This Week: @ WBS 3/28, @ LV 3/30, @ WBS 3/31
Record: 40-21-3-2

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30